(WXYZ) — Ahead of the 2025 primary in the Detroit Mayoral Election, 7 News Detroit Anchor Carolyn Clifford is speaking to DaNetta Simpson, one of nine people who are running to be the next mayor.
Related: See interviews with all 9 Detroit mayoral candidates here
Watch our full interview with DaNetta Simpson in the video below
Simpson describes herself as an eastsider who's been on the political scene fighting for Detroiters since 2005.
"I'm from Elijah Muhammad's family, the messenger from the Nation of Islam," she said. "I'm also a lifetime resident of the City of Detroit."
"Tell us why you want to be the next mayor of Detroit, especially at this critical time," I said.
"Because I have something to offer the citizens of the City of Detroit. It's like I'm a fresh piece of cloth for them, because they've been complaining because they have felt that they had been left out," she said.
I asked Simpson what the biggest difference Detroiters will see compared to the current mayor, Mike Duggan.
"I wanna take the city to another level and I wanted to keep my promises that I had in 2021, and those promises were neighborhoods, crime prevention and protecting city assets," she said.
When it comes to corruption and transparency, she told me, "I will ensure the residents that there will be no corruption in my administration whatsoever."
Simpson also believes the mayor should have input in the school system.
"I have so many parents come to me saying their children can't read. They want their children to be able to read on a productive level and I will make sure of that," Simpson said.
As for the divide between longtime Detroiters and newcomers, she said, "I would make the newcomers feel welcome and I would make the old comers, it's time for us to rise and shine and we can all rise and shine together."
I asked Simpson about her plan to address gun violence, especially among young people, in the city.
"I've been on gun control since day one, since 2005, and like I told you, I will not quit," she said. "I even goes around asking certain business people, community, if they like to post no gun signs in their stores and in bars where there's alcohol, because years ago those were places where a number of gun violence have happened."
While Duggan has tackled blight, I asked how she would take it to the next level.
"Put green lights at areas where they are continuously dumping at, OK, and not only that it's not so much the outsiders coming into the city, it's the residents not controlling where they are dumping waste," she said.
I asked for her message to the families that are struggling.
"I would say it's time for you to stand up and be more responsible because at the end of the day, your family depends on you," she said.
Finally, I asked Simpson for the one thing in her first year, if elected, that would define her legacy. She named several things.
"Fix the homes, fix the neighborhoods for the residents of the City of Detroit, and make them safe," she said. "Stop the killings, stop the violence, stop the drive-by shootings, all of that."
